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October 23, 2008
INNOVATIVE RECYCLING COMPETITION KICKS OFF IN HUNTERSVILLE CMS SCHOOLS
HUNTERSVILLE – Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatics (HFFA) and Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain today announced the implementation of an athletic shoe recycling competition among Huntersville Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) for the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program.
Through the program, athletic shoes of all makes will be collected at each school in bins donated by Huntersville’s Rubbermaid headquarters. Shoes with metal, damp or wet shoes and dress shoes are excluded from the recycling efforts.
At the end of the contest, the shoes will be counted to determine the winning school. They will then be transported to one of two Nike Reuse-A-Shoe processing facilities, where they will be ground up and turned into reusable material. Called Nike Grind, this material is composed of rubber from the shoe outsole, foam from the midsole, and fabric from the upper. The final product is used to create athletic playing surfaces around the world.
The Huntersville goal is to collect 5,000 pairs of shoes. According to the Nike website, this amount could result in the equivalent of surfacing two basketball courts or two playgrounds.
Bear Robinson, HFFA’s director of fitness, came up with the idea of a community shoe drive after learning about the Nike program.
“What better way to continue using shoes when you cannot use them as shoes anymore?” Robinson said. “This is a fun way to get our local kids involved in helping the environment. I’m hoping the recycled products will make it back to our area, which would create new avenues to increase the physical activity of our community.”
“I love the idea of community partnerships, especially those involving children,” said Swain, who, with Robinson, pitched the idea to the Huntersville CMS principals. “Rubbermaid’s contribution, HFFA’s efforts and the enthusiasm of area CMS students is a wonderful collaboration.”
For further information on the local shoe competition, contact Bear Robinson at HFFA, (704) 766-2222 or berobinson@huntersville.org, or Mayor Jill Swain at jswain@huntersville.org.
For more information on the Nike program, visit www.letmeplay.com
About Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics (HFFA):
Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics is about family, fitness and fun. This is a place that attracts people because of its exciting variety of programs, state-of-the-art facilities, and community partnerships. This powerful combination allows HFFA to encourage members to experience and achieve the most in health, wellness and total fitness.
Built in 2001, the 88,000-square-foot HFFA facility features state-of-the-art aquatic and fitness components, including a 50-meter pool, a 25-yard warm water pool, an outdoor family fun pool, full-court gymnasium, complete fitness center, and group exercise studio. As the only public facility in the Southeast with an Olympic-sized, 50-meter competition pool and 10-meter dive tower, HFFA regularly hosts aquatics events with up to 2,000 spectators for regional, national, and international swim and dive competitions. For more information, please call (704) 766-2222 or visit www.hffa.com.
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